By Tim Binnall
A British fortune teller is suing a cinema chain for a whopping $17 million following what he claims was a theater mishap that derailed his psychic career. The contentious legal battle reportedly began back in September of 2015, when mystic Marcus Hunefalk-Franze went to a matinee showing of an unspecified film at Vue Cinema in the city of Islington. Whatever visions the psychic may have had about saving some money on the afternoon screening soon went up in smoke when, his lawsuit states, he sat down to watch the movie, the chair beneath him "collapsed," which resulted in the fortune teller being "catapulted" into the row in front of him.
The incident of whiplash, Hunefalk-Franze laments in his lawsuit, resulted in "chronic neck and back pain" along with damage to his sense of smell, taste, and hearing. While the psychic filed his claim shortly after the September 2015 accident and the cinema chain conceded they were liable for the unfortunate event, the two parties have been tangling over the precise payout ever since. While the company argued that Hunefalk-Franze was owed around $13,000 in compensation, the fortune teller begged to differ, originally asking for around $67,000 before increasing it to approximately $266,000 as the case continued to be litigated and, finally, raising the request to $17 million at a hearing last week.
Explaining that astronomical number, Hunefalk-Franze asserts that the accident 11 years ago caused him to abandon plans for an online commercial psychic venture that he believes would have netted him around $1.3 million annually since that fateful day at the cinema. Additionally, the psychic argued that the business could have been sold for $4 million upon his retirement from soothsaying, but he never got the opportunity to hang up the proverbial crystal ball. In the lawsuit, the mystic also asked for around $16,000 for pain and suffering over the course of 11 years of holidays and, weirdly, another sizeable payout for a "15-year supply of orthopedic shoes."
As one might imagine, the cinema chain disputes the claims put forward by Hunefalk-Franze, citing his pre-existing conditions which could account for some of his physical debilitation. Their attorney also noted that the fortune teller only indicated that he had hurt his back at the time of the accident and said nothing about the litany of injuries he later maintained he had suffered. At last week's hearing, the company stood by their $13,000 offer, which is a mere 1% of what Hunefalk-Franze is now demanding. Unfortunately for both parties, there is likely to be no resolution to the matter for at least another year, as the trial has now been scheduled for late 2027.